English 015 - Americans Abroad
Gertrude and Jake
Gertrude and Jake
Category: 04B: Autobiography of ABT | Zac Milner
Both Jake Barnes and Gertrude Stein act confidently abroad, but the roots of their confidence are completely different. Jake is a real expatriate: he has “lost touch with the soil” (Hemingway, p. 120). Jake refutes his essential American traits, for he knows that in Spain “it was taken for granted that an American could not have aficion” (p. 137). Jake’s confidence in Europe comes in proving that he is different from other Americans. In addition, he spends his time revisiting familiar experiences—traveling to places where others will recognize his confidence.
Gertrude Stein, on the other hand, is not a true expatriate; she is “completely and entirely American” (Stein, p. 16). She does not hide from her American roots, but rather finds comfort in them. For instance, after Gertrude buys paintings from Vollard, the storeowner is prompted to say he “had been visited by [a] crazy American” (p. 32). Gertrude is certainly not ashamed of being “uneuropean.”
The very act of buying new paintings shows one of Gertrude’s traits: unlike Jake, she is always willing to redecorate her life, always looking to see the unseen and do the undone in Europe. Gertrude even volunteers to shuttle the French wounded, despite not knowing how to drive. “For herself, she was not efficient, she was good humored, she was democratic… and she knew what she wanted done” (p. 174). Unlike Jake, her confidence comes from playfully improvising new roles and accepting the fact that she is an “American” abroad. Although she may be different, Gertrude never feels like an outsider in Europe.
Posted by on October 14, 2003 at 12:25 PM